By Jordan Beach
The walls of Ken White Atrium just got a whole lot brighter, as Reinhardt’s art faculty adorned them with their artwork.
While the Falany Performing Arts Center is known for the many performances by both students and professionals, it is now temporarily home to several pieces of art from Brett Mullinix, Jym Davis and Ashley Calicchia.
Reinhardt University will host a Community Gathering to showcase the new exhibit on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 4:30 p.m. At the event, each artist will get the chance to talk about their work.
The artwork featured includes collages, ceramics, graphic design, photography and Davis’ notorious painted masks.
Following the Community Gathering, the work will be displayed now until Nov. 23. The Community Gathering is free and open to the public and will include light refreshments.
About the Artists
Jym Davis, associate professor of art
Davis has shown his masks in several exhibits across the world, including The Elephant Gallery last fall and most recently at the High Rise art show in Atlanta and the Turnip Green Creative Gallery Art Show in Nashville, Tenn.
“The current work in the Faculty Art Show at FPAC features my newest masks,” said Davis. “I also have a wall sculpture called ‘Spike Suit’ which is classified as wearable art. I wanted to showcase my newest masks, some of which feature hanging bells, inspired by the old medieval Schandmaskes. The idea of bringing sound into the masks interested me. Masks are inherently anonymous, but the bells force the wearer to draw attention to themselves.”
Brett Mullinix, assistant professor of art
Another wall of the atrium is filled with work from drawings that incorporate graphite, watercolor paint and oil pastels completed by Mullinix.
“I chose these works because they demonstrate a progression of a concept that I have been working through over the past two years,” said Mullinix. “I became interested in processes and systems especially as they relate to machines, tools and mechanical interactions. The earlier works are more about solid objects whereas the more recent works deal with layers and the visual tension between solidity and transparency.”
Mullinix has displayed his art since the 1990s, including in Greece, and most recently having works in the Rokeby Museum in Vermont and in Kolaj Magazine. In June 2020, he will present a one person show of his current drawings at the Museum of National Identity in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
“Hopefully my students will see that making art is a process that takes time and that allowing concepts and imagery to evolve is crucial to the creative process of image and form making.”
Ashley S. Calicchia, adjunct professor of art and administrative assistant for the School of Arts and Humanities
Calicchia is displaying a series of black and white experimental photographs titled “Ominous.”
“I chose to showcase this particular series of photographs because they represent my most recent body of work. Additionally, many of the photographs were taken in Montpelier, Va., where I attended graduate school,” said Calicchia. “Therefore, the images hold a personal significance to me. They also seemed like an appropriate body of work to display during the Halloween season.”
The small class sizes at Reinhardt are Calicchia’s favorite aspect of teaching her art courses, two-dimensional design, art appreciation (offer during Reinhardt’s first Winter Term this year), art history and survey of modern art.
“I enjoy being able to connect with my students, working with them one-on-one in the studio. I find it rewarding to provide my students with the knowledge and confidence, to create their own body of work that they can be proud of.”
Calicchia has shown a variety of 80s goth-inspired art at several shows in Atlanta, as well as her mixed media works, typographic poster, photography and other work at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier.
